'Grounds For Divorce' - Elbow (The Seldom Seen Kid): I love this song. Love it, love it. For me, it comes down to the riff and the attitude. Elbow are my newest discovery, thanks to Michelle and a friend of mine who works for Hamilton Public Library, and their album The Seldom Seen Kid is the best album I've heard in the last six months or so. The unison guitar/bass is pretty heavy, but the riff itself is very funky and just gets stuck in your head.
'As Cold As It Gets' - Patty Griffin (Impossible Dream): This is, as Caitlin and I say, a total 'wrist slitter'--just about as depressing as it gets, song-wise. However, it's also stunningly beautiful and I never get tired of Patty Griffin's voice. She is accompanied by two acoustic guitars and her voice sits far out in the mix as she tells a story of war and sadness. I have to admit, I can only listen to this song so much before it just becomes a bit overwhelming for me.
'Pigeon' - Stone Gossard (Bayleaf): This song is is all about the riff and the guitar tone (very crunchy)--the moment I heard this riff I wanted to pick up my guitar and grind it out. Gossard, for those who don't know, is the other half of Pearl Jam's dynamic guitar duo and he's a very talented guy in his own right. I've always loved his off-kilter riffs that bump up against one another (and let's be honest, anyone who pens the riff to 'Even Flow' is pretty awesome in my book!). His Bayleaf album is a kind of a weird-rock nerd show, but I loved it the moment I heard it. It's not nearly as hard hitting or powerful as his work with his main gig, but it's a really cool little album in it's own right. Though this is one of the most accessible songs on the album, the lyrics are actually quite dark and appear to be a first-person account of a cheating husband. Good times.
'Whipping' - Pearl Jam (Vitalogy): Pearl Jam's third album is definitely a 90s alt-rock classic, but this is one of the far less well-known cuts on the album (compared to, say, 'Corduroy', 'Not For You', or 'Immortality', to name but a few). It's a punky, thrashy, defiant little ditty where I'm pretty sure Eddie Vedder is doing his best, at various points, to completely shred his vocal cords. My verdict: awesome. I think I've always loved this song because EV sounds so incredibly angry and, as I've always said, he's gives voice to my rage in such an articulate manner.
'I Could Be Nothing' - Great Lake Swimmers (Bodies and Minds): This is a moody, atmospheric masterpiece by one of my favourite Canadian outfits. It's essentially a minor key waltz, that starts out with picked banjo before being joined by an acoustic guitar and the fragile vocals of head Swimmer Tony Dekker (as Allmusic pointed out, a cross between Thom Yorke and Neil Young). This is just a stunningly beautiful, lyrically evocative tune from a band that just continues to get better and better.
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2 comments:
Checked out the Elbow song, love the stomping rhythm it begins with and then when the crunchy guitars kick in I knew had to get it. Old school badass with a Brit twist.
So glad you liked the song! That whole album of theirs is just wicked. You should check it out, not a bad track on it. Brilliant.
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